The High Sign (Buster Keaton, 1921)
What is the film about? How is the story told? Who are the main characters and what happens to them? How is the narrative structured?
The film follows Keaton as he gets off a train, steals a never ending newspaper and takes a job as at a shooting range. The man in charge tells him to have hit all the targets by the time he returns. In parallel, we see the man leave and is let into a hideout of the Blinking Buzzards as he knows the ‘high sign’ secret hand signal. While they work out a plan to assassinate a man called August on the first of September, Keaton’s character attaches the bell that rings every time a target is hit to a dog running after a piece of meat (which makes every shot look like it hit a target.) August, now aware of the threat to his life, sees Keaton’s impressive shooting and hires him as his personal bodyguard. Then when the gangster returns he’s also impressed and Keaton is initiated into the Blinking Buzzards and told to kill august.
He goes round to August’s house later that afternoon to find it rigged with trapped doors and spinning walls for escape routes, and knowing their butler is one of the Buzzards he pretends to shoot August. The gang watching outside all celebrate and begin to leave but then spot August standing up and shaking hands with the man. They all run inside to catch Keaton and a classic chase scene ensues with jumping through windows, falling through floors and spinning walls.
Does the film belong to a particular genre? How does it conform to or deviate from genre conventions? Does the film belong to a notable genre cycle?
The film is typical of the American Populism style, and is another comedy by Keaton. It focuses mostly on physical comedy such as the infinite newspaper of the chase scene.
Who made the film? Does the film exhibit auteur qualities?
The film was written and directed again by Keaton and Cline, and distributed by Metro. It didn’t feel quite as structured plot wise as some of Keatons other films but still visually it held his typical traits such as the fighting style and cheeky performance.
The High Sign was actually Keaton’s first independent short, but he didn’t like it so released it a year later after his also independent One Week (1921.)
Do the filmmakers use any interesting techniques to convey information to the audience? Are the key elements of film form innovative or particularly effective? Does the film have a distinct aesthetic?
Written exposition is used a lot in this short such as the job listing in the newspaper, the note telling the Buzzards to kill August in September and the threatening letter sent to August. Because of the complicated plot without dialogue, Keaton uses text edited in or as a prop in the film to bypass this problem.
Does the film hold a significant place in film history? How does the film reflect the social, cultural, historical, and political context in which it was produced and exhibited? How is the film representative of the institutions and technologies that made it?
Possibly a critique on crime and gun laws? But more likely they are elements just used to further the comedy.
How does the film represent particular individuals or groups of people?
The film plays on stereotypes of what a gangster should look like and then uses 5’5” Keaton to subvert this.
What was your personal reaction to the film? Do you think your reaction is typical of most spectators? Which sequences were particularly effective or enjoyable?
I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the other two of Keaton’s I’ve seen; it felt like the plot wasn’t as collected and lost momentum at times.